Exercising in the gym, has less to do with weight loss than what we are told and probably think.
But, don’t get me wrong. Physical activity is good and essential for our well being. We absolutely have to exercise regularly! Over time, what we need has been perverted and drifted to where the business interests and return profits lie. Or, in many instance just because of plain ignorance of the general public.
I have always maintained that we are being misinformed and misled through “excellent” advertising and marketing by the large food companies. What we need for weight loss …. is, “look at what and when you eat”. It has nothing to do with exercise and the relative few calories that you burn doing exercise is not going to make you lose weight. We should be counting carbohydrates, not calories. Calories are made and burnt as part of our normal physiological existence. We can’t live without it. Carbohydrates however, is a different kettle of fish. We don’t have to actively consume carbohydrates. There are good and bad carbs. The bad ones we can easily avoid. As a rule of thumb …. bad carbs are anything that comes out of a packet or box or has been processed in some or other way. We absolutely do need protein in our diets, no one argues about that. So, if you follow a “diet” consisting of mainly protein with added salads, fruit and veggies, then you will automatically consume more than enough good carbs.
I also thoroughly dislike the term “diet”. “Diet” to me implies something abnormal that you try to adhere to in an unnatural way, that eventually will fail. Just name it the food that you habitually eat.
The crux of the matter is:
Eat what you like, BUT, try and keep it within healthy guides.
Whether you eat meat, or are a vegetarian or vegan, is totally irrelevant. But, do avoid the bad fats ( LDL ) and bad carbs. It’s essentially not carbs vs protein. it’s good vs bad carbs.
Stick to the right size portions. A portion should never be bigger than your hand,-palm or -fist. That is the size of your stomach, anything more is too much, and, NEVER take second helpings!
Avoid sugar. There is nothing healthy about any kind of sugar. That includes ALL fizzy drinks, sodas and especially bottled fruit juice. Also avoid freshly made fruit juice where the fibers have been separated and discarded in the blender. You need the fibers. A glass of “pure” fruit juice has more sugar in it than a glass of beer or wine.
Don’t snack in between. Your insulin needs to go down between meals.
I was so pleased when I read the article by by Julia Belluz and Javier Zarracina. They have the confirmed evidence.
The link follows below:
Why you shouldn’t exercise to lose weight, explained with 60+ studies – Vox
